We've had someone in to redo our pond. There's been a pond on site since time immemorial - as far back as the oldest OS maps on the NLS - but it was redone badly. The original pond was filled in in the 20thC; a new one was dug in the last half century, but it was nowhere near as deep as it ought to be. Last winter I think it froze to the bottom, and the ice punctured it. It ran dry last month.
The guy who did all the work - I hired someone, I know, not DIY, but my back is dodgy - moved all the spoil onto our drive, which is gravel. He got his numbers wrong, and among other things some of it has spilled off the edge of the old liner which was protecting the gravel.
Which means that some of the drive now has clay mixed in to the gravel. I'm not sure how much - the grab lorry he hired wasn't big enough.
Does anyone have any ideas how we can separate gravel and clay?
I've tried sieving it, and that (a) lets the small gravel fall through and (b) leaves big lumps of clay in the sieve. I can pick out some of the lumps, but it's a slow process. The stuff that's gone through is a mixture of small clay bits and gravel. I tried washing it, which works - but it leaves a lot of mud, which will be a *** to get rid of. We have the same clay as the Somme valley, and you all know what that was like in WW1!
Yes, I know it's his responsibility, but I'd like to help. He's a young guy starting out and has messed up his numbers. I'm pretty sure he's made a loss on this job.
Andy